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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Turning to Shot Put After Breaking Arm, Hun's Cortina Earns All-American Status
By Bill Alden
When Brian Cortina fractured his left arm playing soccer a few years ago, it turned out to be the break that changed the course of his life as an athlete.
Unable to play soccer because his coaches feared his cast could be used a weapon, the 13-year-old Cortina turned to his father, Greg, a champion shot putter in his days at the Hun School, and asked him if he would teach him how to throw.
The younger Cortina took to the sport like a duck to water, quickly learning the technique and earning trophies in junior competitions.
After playing soccer and basketball in his freshman year at Hun in addition to competing at track, Cortina decided that summer to specialize in the throwing events.
Earlier this month, that decision paid a huge dividend as Cortina uncorked a personal best throw of 62' 2 1/2 to place third at the Nike national meet in Landover, Md. and earn high school All-American status.
As Cortina looks ahead to his senior season with the Hun track team, he recognizes that his broken arm turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
"I was playing some sport every season and then I broke my arm playing soccer," recalled Cortina.
"I got real bored, real quick. I asked my father if he would teach me the shot. I picked it up quickly. I just had a knack for it. I enjoyed soccer but I don't miss it."
Cortina's knack for the shot was never more evident than in his breakthrough effort at the national meet.
"I knew it was right," said Cortina, recalling his special heave which was four feet further than his previous personal record. "It all came together. You only get that feeling once in awhile."
Cortina's father, who has continued to coach his son since he picked up the sport, wasn't surprised at how his son performed on the big stage.
"He gets so excited and focused when something big is on the line," said the elder Cortina, noting that his son had been seeded seventh at the national meet.
"The more that's on the line, the better he's done. He just competes really well. He's always done that in every sport he plays. That's what separates the great ones from the good athletes."
The 6'2, 220-pound Cortina has needed that competitive edge as he is usually among the smaller throwers at the elite competitions.
"Every time I go to the big meets, the top seeds are not too concerned about getting beat by the ninth seed," said Cortina, noting that many of the top throwers he faces weigh around 300 pounds.
"I'll come out there and put up a good throw and they'll be surprised. At the Nike meet, the kid that won came up to me and told me that was the first time in a while that he's been scared."
In addition to his competitive fire, Cortina brings a special athleticism to the event, according to his father.
"The shot put is an event that combines speed and strength," said the elder Cortina, who still holds Hun's school record in the shot put with a throw of 68'9. "Speed is strength. We knew we had to use Brian's speed and we worked on that concept from the start."
The younger Cortina, meanwhile, is working to build his strength, getting a boost from the coaches at the University of Miami where he will be competing at the college level.
"The coaching staff there has helped me," said Cortina, who fell in love with the school when he first visited the lush campus two years ago.
"I spent some time in the weight room down there with the strength coach. He taught me some new lifts and corrected my form on other lifts."
Having broken through the 60-foot barrier in the shot, Cortina will be focusing on improving his discus throw this spring in his final season at Hun, which starts on April 2 with the Mercer County Relays.
"I'm going to be mostly training on the discus," said Cortina, who works out with weights five days a week and is on a special protein diet to help him bulk up.
"My personal best is around 160 feet and I want to get that up around 180 feet. I hope to maintain where I am in the shot and improve a lot in the discus. I need to be able to score points any way I can when I'm at Miami."
It certainly appears that Miami is getting a break by attracting a throwing talent like Cortina.
